Good friends run in memory of dad who died

Cops for Cancer event draws 2,700

Hey there, time traveller!This article was published 5/5/2013 (1313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The 15 guys in the neon orange T-shirts with big black letters "Run for Rick" were easy to spot Sunday at Assiniboine Park.

They had a mission, as did the others among the 2,700 runners at the Winnipeg Police Service's ninth annual half-marathon and two-person relay in support of Cops For Cancer (Winnipeg Iron Cops) on Sunday.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Police Service Officer Jimmy Anis at the finish line during the Winnipeg Police Service half marathon at Assiniboine Park Sunday. Jimmy was taking part in the Boston Marathon this year and has also finished first among the department for the last eight years, losing his title this year to a WPS recruit by less than a second. Purchase Photo Print

The guys in orange were soccer players running with their buddy and in the memory of his dad, former marathoner Rick Smoke. So when the last one crossed the finish line, Smoke's widow and son found their emotions close to the surface.

"It's an honour to Rick and it's an honour to Scott that his friends... ," Carole paused, her voice cracking as she struggled for words.

Her son, Scott, said he'd never run a marathon in his life and only made the decision a few weeks before his father died suddenly. He never expected his friends to join him.

"I'd never run a marathon before, and once my dad passed away, some of my friends and the soccer team volunteered to run in his memory," Scott said.

The guys made their promise come true Sunday.

Smoke, 59, died unexpectedly in February after a freak complication following routine surgery.

The effort by Scott's friends moved mother and son beyond the power of words. In the end, they shared a hug, tears welling in their eyes.

Under mild skies, the race started shortly after 8 a.m. just east of the Assiniboine Park footbridge after a moment of silence to remember the tragic events at the Boston Marathon last month.

The second wave of runners started at 8:30 a.m.

The odds-on favourite for the Winnipeg Police Service was Sgt. Jim Anis, a marathoner who'd raced in Boston last month.

In the end, he lost to a cadet recruit by a mere eight seconds among the cops who ran, but he said this year was about more than running.

"I dedicated this run to my son and to Boston," Anis said.

On April 15, the police sergeant passed the finish line and collected his wife among the spectators half an hour before pressure-cooker bombs exploded killing three people and injuring more than 260 at the Boston Marathon.

That close brush was followed days later by another one.

Anis said his son, Jason, 15, was cycling when he was hit by a car going 70 kilometres an hour on Bishop Grandin Boulevard. He suffered a concussion but no serious injuries.

"We have gone through a lot and we're just trying to carry on normally," he said.

No rampaging deer... it was a good day

THE last two years, the weather's been lousy -- rain in 2012 and snow in 2011 at the Winnipeg Police Service half-marathon.

So this time, runner Shawne Peterson was relieved to see the sunshine.

Back in 2011, a wild deer freaked out beside the course and ran into Peterson on her debut run, mowing her down and proving runners in Winnipeg put up with weird stuff. "The deer looked at me. I looked at him. He started running and ran right into me. He flipped me over and landed on his belly, four legs splayed out like Bambi. The other runner said I was up on my feet before he was."

The bizarre mishap -- even mentioned by David Letterman on The Late Show -- spawned a T-shirt for sale at the marathon. It reads, "Ice, Sweat and Deers" with a comic caricature of a woman and a deer, both heads spinning.

"I would also like to say congrats to all the organizers and volunteers who spend many hours putting this fantastic race together. They do an awesome job," Peterson said.

Every year, the race raises $100,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society, and this year that number was expected to be closer to $110,000, organizers said.

History

Updated on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 9:04 AM CDT: adds fact box

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